Protect Your Peace | Dr. Howard-John Wesley

Summary

Dr. Howard-John Wesley’s sermon, based on Philippians 4:6, urges listeners to protect their peace because anxiety and distractions can undermine their ability to meet life’s challenges. He compares peace to the calming presence of a goat kept with a valuable racehorse: protecting what brings calm helps you perform at your best.

Key Strategies for Protecting Peace

• Set boundaries around your attention and energy. Don’t let arguments, other people’s negativity, or the pressure to please everyone consume your peace. As Wesley puts it, don’t carry other people’s “suitcases” when you didn’t pack them.
• Choose joy deliberately. Wesley presents “rejoice” as a practice of greeting and ending the day with joy, rather than letting difficulties dictate your outlook.
• Limit exposure to things that feed negativity. He advises against starting the day with the news or social media and against dwelling on negative comments or other joy-draining content.
• Pray and hand over your burdens. Prayer means bringing problems to God rather than struggling with them alone. The sermon encourages sharing concerns about family, health, work, and relationships in prayer.
• Ask for what you need with confidence. Wesley urges listeners not to make their prayers small out of fear or hesitation, but to ask boldly while trusting God’s power.
• Practice gratitude alongside asking. Remember past help, answered prayers, and blessings—even amid difficulty—and express thanks. The sermon’s pattern is to rejoice, pray, make requests, and do so with thanksgiving.
• Build relationships with people who share your values. In his closing remarks, Pastor Marcus D. Cosby encourages finding friends who love God, seek to do what is right, and can also share laughter and fun.
• Ground peace in faith. The sermon teaches that God’s peace can remain present even when circumstances are painful or confusing, and that a relationship with God through Jesus is its spiritual foundation.

Presenters and Sources

• Dr. Howard-John Wesley — sermon presenter.
• Rev. Dr. Marcus D. Cosby — Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church pastor; delivered the closing invitation and remarks.
• Biblical source: Philippians 4:6, with related references to Philippians 4 and the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians.